FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT WATER SUPPLY - PAGE 3

The water supply at Petsworth Elementary School has been cleared of fecal coliform, potentially harmful bacteria, said James Camp, director of facilities for the Gloucester School Division. However, the drinking water at the school has not been turned back on because the school water system is being disinfected again, he said Tuesday. While fecal coliform, or E. coli, is no longer present, water samples showed the presence of total coliform. Coliform bacteria generally are not harmful and are naturally present in the environment, but Camp said he didn't want the water back on until there is no coliform in the water.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, responding to a lawsuit filed by the county, said it turned down the Ware Creek reservoir project partly because James City failed to show that the reservoir "would be a necessary component" of a regional water supply. In a 22-page legal defense filed in U.S. District Court in Newport News, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers claim that the Ware Creek project cannot be considered "as a truly regional approach to the projected water needs of the lower Peninsula region," even though the county has said the reservoir could connect to Newport News Waterworks lines.

Stopping the King William Reservoir and curtailing the Peninsula's water supply is not the best way to stop sprawl development in the region, Newport News Waterworks Director Brian Ramaley said Wednesday. But neither can the area expect to develop over the next 50 years at the same pace it developed over the last 50, replied Sharon Saari of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, one of the most outspoken opponents of the proposed reservoir. "We're going to run out of resources," Saari said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ending months of speculation and years of analysis, said Monday it has vetoed a proposed reservoir at Ware Creek, a decision that deals a final blow to what county officials say is a vital source for future water needs. The 66-page determination to kill the reservoir concludes that the 1,217-acre reservoir would "result in unacceptable adverse impacts to wildlife," and there are "practical alternatives available" to meet projected water demand, according to an executive summary of the report.

Construction bids for the next step of expanding the city's water supply system were opened Thursday, with the lowest bid coming in more than $250,000 over the city's estimate. The latest step will be a physical plant to house a high-tech desalination system, a 3 million-gallon water tank, a laboratory and other non-water-treatment equipment. The low bidder, Pizzagalli Construction Co. of Newport News, submitted a general construction cost bid of $3.77 million, and a total construction cost, including additional materials and products, of $3.85 million.

Owner: George S. Larrimore Sr. Founded: 1994 Location: 6783 Main St. in Gloucester Phone: (804) 694-0029 Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday Nature of the business: Car wash and cleaning service. Larrimore travels to customer's vehicles in a minivan fully equipped with a water supply, vacuum, pressure washer and cleaning chemicals. Branching out: Larrimore has owned X-Tra Clean Full Service Car Wash since 1993. He says he hit the road to expand his service because he found that not everyone on the Peninsula can come to a car wash.

The Environmental Protection Agency Friday affirmed its veto of James City County's proposed Ware Creek reservoir, citing the project's harm to wetlands and wildlife. The federal agency encouraged James City to work toward a regional water supply, and an EPA official said the agency would look at Ware Creek in a new light if it were part of a regional project. County officials, who have been moving forward with plans to build the $50 million project, said they were disappointed with the decision.

Conservation efforts and a couple of downpours appear to have replenished the area's water supply a bit. After record-setting use in July, daily consumption has dropped nearly 10 percent, slowing the decline in the Peninsula's reservoirs, said Dave Morris, planning and programs manager at Newport News Waterworks. "Keep it up, you're doing good," Morris said to area residents Wednesday. But we're not out of the woods yet, he added. Rainfall is still below normal, by 5 inches so far this year, he said.

The suggestion that Newport News Waterworks turn to Norfolk to solve the Peninsula's water problems rather than build a reservoir in King William County is easily dismissed. Del. George Grayson, D-James City County, supports the idea, citing extra capacity the Norfolk system will have once it begins getting water through a pipeline from Lake Gaston. True, Norfolk will have surplus water, but Norfolk's planning - and the justification for the Gaston pipeline - assumed that water will be needed to meet growing demand on Southside.

Water supply The need is undeniable -- and the reservoir is the way to address it The regional group charged with water supply planning "has demonstrated a need for additional water supply sometime between 2015 and 2030. ... If there are tasks that must be undertaken now to assure timely delivery of water supply when it is needed, then decisions on those actions should be taken immediately." So concluded the Institute of Water Resources of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which evaluated whether the group planning for the King William Reservoir had accurately estimated the need.